1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to overheated steam ovens and, more particularly, to an overheated steam oven which is designed for home use by simplifying a construction and reducing a size of the overheated steam oven.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, to cook foods, the foods may be roasted by heat, such as in a gas oven, the foods may be steamed by vapor, such as in a steaming vessel, or the foods may be boiled with water, such as in a cooking vessel. Also, there are methods to cook foods using microwaves, far infrared rays, and overheated steam, etc.
Cooking while using gas ovens may, relatively evenly, heat foods in the gas oven, but it is problematic in that a taste of the foods reduces due to oxidation of the foods which results from contact with oxygen in air. Cooking using vapor needs plenty of water, and the foods may be insipid because some water is absorbed into the foods during cooking. Cooking using the cooking vessels have a problem in that the foods may be burnt by overly heating a part of the foods. For cooking using microwaves or far infrared rays, the foods must be rotated due to fixed radiating directions of the microwaves or the far infrared rays, and controlling the temperature of the food is difficult. Further, the foods may easily dry during cooking. To summarize, to appropriately cook foods, cooking apparatuses must evenly heat the foods at suitable temperatures, however, using the above-mentioned conventional cooking methods, it is difficult to satisfy cooking conditions.
Cooking using overheated steam is a method in that overheated steam is discharged into a cooking cavity. Since cooking using overheated steam evenly heats foods, the foods may not be partially burnt, and a cooking temperature is easily controlled by controlling a volume of the discharged overheated steam. Also, since oxidation of foods does not occur, cooking using the overheated steam has an advantage in that cooked foods have a better taste.
However, conventional cooking apparatuses using the overheated steam include a cooking cavity to contain foods therein, a steam boiler to generate the overheated steam, a water tank to supply water into the steam boiler, and a plurality of steam pipes to discharge the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler into the cooking cavity. Hence, cooking apparatuses are complex and costly. Accordingly, the conventional cooking apparatuses using overheated steam are both difficult to use at home and in a wide open establishment, as in a large restaurant for business. Also, in the conventional overheated steam cooking apparatuses, the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler is discharged into the cooking cavity through the steam pipes, resulting in increased heat loss.